一人得道，鸡犬升天
yī rén dé dào , jī quǎn shēng tiān
-
1 lit. when a man achieves the Dao, his poultry and dogs rise to Heaven (idiom)
-
2 fig. to ride on sb else's success
-
3 Once one man gets a government position, all his cronies get in too
-
4 Once sb has cracked the problem, every Tom, Dick and Harry can do it
一粒老鼠屎坏了一锅粥
yī lì lǎo shǔ shǐ huài le yī guō zhōu
-
1 lit. a piece of rat feces spoiled the whole pot of congee (idiom)
-
2 fig. one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch
一颗老鼠屎坏了一锅汤
yī kē lǎo shǔ shǐ huài le yī guō tāng
-
1 lit. a piece of rat feces spoiled the whole pot of soup (idiom)
-
2 fig. one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch
一鸣惊人
yī míng jīng rén
-
1 to amaze the world with a single brilliant feat (idiom); an overnight celebrity
七手八脚
qī shǒu bā jiǎo
-
1 (idiom) with everyone lending a hand (eagerly but somewhat chaotically)
七扭八歪
qī niǔ bā wāi
-
1 misshapen
-
2 crooked
-
3 uneven (idiom)
七窍生烟
qī qiào shēng yān
-
1 lit. spouting smoke through the seven orifices (idiom)
-
2 fig. to seethe with anger
七零八落
qī líng bā luò
-
1 (idiom) everything broken and in disorder
三七二十一
sān qī èr shí yī
-
1 three sevens are twenty-one (idiom)
-
2 the facts of the matter
-
3 the actual situation
三人成虎
sān rén chéng hǔ
-
1 three men talking makes a tiger (idiom); repeated rumor becomes a fact
三人行，必有我师
sān rén xíng , bì yǒu wǒ shī
-
1 lit. if three walk together, one can be my teacher (idiom, from the Analects of Confucius)
-
2 you have sth to learn from everyone
三个女人一台戏
sān ge nu:3 rén yī tái xì
-
1 three women are enough for a drama (idiom)
三旬九食
sān xún jiǔ shí
-
1 lit. to have only nine meals in thirty days (idiom)
-
2 fig. (of a family) on the brink of starvation
-
3 in dire straits
上有老下有小
shàng yǒu lǎo xià yǒu xiǎo
-
1 lit. above are the elderly, below are the young (idiom)
-
2 fig. to have to take care of both one's aging parents and one's children
-
3 sandwich generation
不以人废言
bù yǐ rén fèi yán
-
1 not to reject a word because of the speaker (idiom, from Analects); to judge on the merits of the case rather than preference between advisers
不恤人言
bù xù rén yán
-
1 not to worry about the gossip (idiom); to do the right thing regardless of what others say
不是一家人不进一家门
bù shì yī jiā rén bù jìn yī jiā mén
-
1 people who don't belong together, don't get to live together (idiom)
-
2 marriages are predestined
-
3 people marry because they share common traits
不甘人后
bù gān rén hòu
-
1 (idiom) not want to be outdone
-
2 not content to lag behind
不甘后人
bù gān hòu rén
-
1 (idiom) not want to be outdone
-
2 not content to lag behind
不听老人言，吃亏在眼前
bù tīng lǎo rén yán , chī kuī zài yǎn qián
-
1 (idiom) ignore your elders at your peril